Dust mop assembly with integrated deflector

ABSTRACT

A dust mop assembly is disclosed. The dust mop includes a mop head that comprises a top surface and a bottom surface. The bottom surface includes a dust gathering assembly, such as a reusable dust gathering pad or a plurality of dust gathering yarns. A deflector is coupled to the front of the mop head using any acceptable means. The deflector keeps dust and debris from being thrown over the dust mop while in use.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to cleaning apparatus, and in particular to dust mops incorporating a mop head with a dust gathering assembly such as, for example, a plurality of dust gathering yarns or a reusable dust gathering pad.

BACKGROUND

Dust mops are well known for cleaning in and about homes and commercial and industrial buildings. Such mops generally employ a plurality of individual dust gathering yarns connected to a mop head, although reusable dust gathering pads (often known by the trade name “Swiffer®”) are also included in this category of cleaning tool. Generally, a user will pass the mop head over a surface that requires cleaning. The mop head (either the individual dust gathering yarns or the dust gathering pad) will then take up dust that is on the surface. Dust mops are also used to clean other material from a surface, such as paper clippings, sand, and other debris.

Generally, a prior art dust mop will be constructed as is illustrated in FIG. 1. A dust mop having a standard head with a plurality of dust gathering yarns is shown in FIG. 1 and throughout this disclosure. However, it should be understood that the invention is applicable to all dust mops, including those that use a plurality of individual dust gathering yarns and those that use dust gathering pads. As depicted, the mop comprises a mop head 10, which is coupled to a pole 20 by a swivel connector 30. As depicted, the swivel connector 30 is capable of swiveling laterally; i.e., side-to-side. However, a variety of swivel connectors 30 are known in the art, and this disclosure can be constructed with any of them, or without any type of swivel connector 30 at all. FIG. 1a depicts a prior art dust mop utilizing an alternative swivel connector to that depicted in FIG. 1. The pole 20 will typically be made of wood or plastic, but other suitable materials can be used as well. At the top of the pole 20 there may be a plastic handle 22 that incorporates, for example, an aperture or hook to make storage of the dust mop easier.

One issue that arises frequently when a dust mop is used is that very light debris, such as paper clippings, when mopped up will be driven upwards and over the dust mop, instead of being taken up by the mop head. This causes janitorial workers to have to go over the same area multiple times, resulting in additional labor.

OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSED DUST MOP ASSEMBLY

One object of the disclosure is to provide an improved dust mop assembly.

Another object of the disclosure is to provide a dust mop that will pick up very light material instead of driving the very light material over the dust mop.

Another object of the disclosure is to provide an improved dust mop assembly incorporating a deflector disposed at the front of the mop head mount.

Yet another object of the disclosure is to provide a deflector that can be installed on existing dust mops.

Other advantages of this disclosure will be clear to a person of ordinary skill in the art. It should be understood, however, that a system or method could practice the disclosure while not achieving all of the enumerated advantages, and that the protected disclosure is defined by the claims.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

An improved dust mop assembly is disclosed. In particular, the disclosed dust mop assembly includes a deflector positioned so as to deflect light debris, such as paper, that is driven up by the usage of the mop, thereby allowing the user to more easily gather the debris. The disclosed dust mop assembly comprises a mop head having a top surface and a bottom surface, with a dust gathering assembly being coupled to the bottom surface of the mop head. The dust gathering assembly can be, for example, a plurality of dust gathering yarns or a reusable dust gathering pad. A pole is coupled to the top surface of the mop head, and a deflector is coupled to the dust mop assembly; preferably, towards the front of the dust mop assembly.

In an additional embodiment of the disclosed dust mop assembly, the mop head further comprises a center support disposed on a top surface of the mop head at approximately the center of the mop head. The deflector, the pole, or both the deflector and the pole are coupled to the mop assembly using one or more clamps coupled to the center support. The clamps can be, for example, a friction clamp or a spring-loaded hinge clamp.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this disclosure will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself, and the manner in which it may be made and used, may be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a prior art dust mop assembly.

FIG. 1a is a perspective view illustrating a prior art dust mop assembly utilizing an alternative swivel connector.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a dust mop assembly incorporating a deflector wherein the dust mop assembly is constructed in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the dust mop assembly of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of an alternative mop head assembly constructed in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 4a is a perspective view of a dust mop assembly utilizing the mop head of FIG. 4.

FIG. 4b is a perspective view of a dust mop head assembly with an add-on deflector assembly utilizing a spring-loaded hinge clamp.

FIG. 4c is a side view of an add-on deflector assembly utilizing a spring-loaded hinge clamp.

FIG. 5a is a perspective view of a dust mop assembly constructed in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 5b is a side view of the dust mop assembly depicted in FIG. 5 a.

FIG. 5c is a side view of an add-on deflector assembly utilizing a friction clamp.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning to the figures, and to FIG. 2 in particular, an improved dust mop assembly is depicted and generally designated as 100. The dust mop assembly 100 incorporates a mop head 110 that is a generally planar. As depicted, the mop head 110 also incorporates a plurality of individual dust gathering yarns 116 secured on the operative surface of the mop head; i.e., the bottom. The mop head can be constructed with a swivel connector 30, which may, for example, be a swivel joint as shown. A handle 20 will generally be coupled to the swivel connector 30. As depicted the mop assembly 100 further comprises a deflector 142, which can be mounted in a variety of ways. The deflector can be, for example, formed of plastic, such as a transparent plastic or acrylic. Alternatively, the deflector could, for example, be formed of aluminum. As depicted, the deflector 142 is integrally formed into the top portion of the mop head 110 toward the front of the dust mop assembly; i.e., toward the leading edge as defined by the action of the user in pushing the dust mop toward debris. This assembly is further illustrated in FIG. 3, which is a side view of an embodiment of the improved dust mop assembly 100 illustrating the same components as the perspective view of FIG. 2. In particular, FIG. 3 depicts the disclosed dust mop assembly 100 including a handle 20 coupled to a swivel connector 30 that is connected to a mop head 110. The mop head 110 includes an integrated deflector 142 on the top side of the mop head 110. A plurality of dust gathering yarns 116 is coupled to the bottom of the mop head 110.

The deflector 142 can be formed vertically (straight up and down), or it can be disposed so that it extends outwards; i.e., so that the top of the deflector extends outwards towards the leading edge of the dust mop. Alternatively, the deflector 142 can also be disposed so it extends inwards; i.e., so that the top of the deflector extends inwards away from the leading edge of the dust mop.

FIGS. 4 and 4 a-c depict another embodiment of the disclosed dust mop assembly which is generally designated as 300. FIG. 4 is a top view of the dust mop head assembly 310, which comprise a plurality of dust gathering yarns 316 extending from the bottom of the mop head assembly 310. A metal frame 322 is formed into the top of the mop head assembly 310, with the metal frame 322 comprising a center support 324. The deflector 342 is coupled to the center support 324 by a spring-loaded hinge clamp 326. Turning to FIG. 4a , a pole 20 is coupled to the center support 324 by a second spring-loaded hinge clamp 328.

It should be noted that the spring-loaded hinge clamp 326 can couple to various portions of the frame, such as the front or the back.

The primary advantage of this embodiment is that it allows for an existing dust mop to be modified rather than an entire new assembly being created. However, only those installations that utilize a structure amenable to spring-loaded hinge clamp 326 will be able to be retrofitted with the disclosed deflector.

FIGS. 5a-5c depict yet another embodiment of the disclosed dust mop assembly, which is generally designated as 400. FIG. 5a is a perspective view of the assembly. As depicted, the mop assembly 400 comprises a mop head 410 including a center support 424. A deflector 442 is coupled to the center support 424 by a friction clamp 426. The deflector further comprises a base 427 and integrally formed with the base 427 is a support platform 429. As depicted, the support platform 429 completely encloses the center support 424. Mounted on a top portion of the support platform 429 is a second center support 434 to which a pole 420 is coupled through a second friction clamp 436.

This embodiment has similar advantages to the that of FIG. 4, but allow for the deflector be installed on existing dust mops that utilize the friction clamp assembly mechanism illustrated.

The foregoing description of the disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. The description was selected to best explain the principles of the present teachings and practical application of these principles to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the disclosure not be limited by the specification, but be defined by the claims set forth below. In addition, although narrow claims may be presented below, it should be recognized that the scope of this invention is much broader than presented by the claim(s). It is intended that broader claims will be submitted in one or more applications that claim the benefit of priority from this application. Insofar as the description above and the accompanying drawings disclose additional subject matter that is not within the scope of the claim or claims below, the additional inventions are not dedicated to the public and the right to file one or more applications to claim such additional inventions is reserved. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A dust mop assembly comprising: a mop head having a top surface and a bottom surface; a dust gathering assembly coupled to the bottom surface of the mop head; a pole coupled to the mop head; and a deflector coupled to the dust mop assembly, said deflector being positioned toward a front of the mop head.
 2. The dust mop assembly of claim 1 wherein the dust gathering assembly is one or more dust gathering yarns.
 3. The dust mop assembly of claim 1 wherein the dust gathering assembly is a reusable dust gathering pad.
 4. The dust mop assembly of claim 1 wherein the mop head further comprises a center support disposed on a top surface of the mop head at approximately a center of the mop head.
 5. The dust mop assembly of claim 4 wherein the deflector is coupled to the dust mop assembly at the center support by a friction clamp.
 6. The dust mop assembly of claim 4 wherein the deflector is coupled to the dust mop assembly at the center support by a spring-loaded hinge clamp. 